--- title: Apple LISA / LISA 2 - Mac XL categories: - Computers types: - Professional Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1983' cpus: - Motorola MC 68000 params: name: LISA / LISA 2 - Mac XL image: /media/museum/photos/apple_lisa2.jpg logo: /media/museum/logos/logo_apple-lisa.gif company: /companies/apple company_name: Apple specs: - label: NAME value: LISA / LISA 2 - Mac XL - label: MANUFACTURER value: Apple - label: TYPE value: Professional Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: January 1983 - label: END OF PRODUCTION value: August 1986 - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Lisa OS - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke 77-key with numeric keypad - label: CPU value: Motorola MC 68000 - label: SPEED value: 5 MHz - label: RAM value: 1 MB (2MB max. via 3rd party upgrade) - label: ROM value: 16 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 40 x 32 bit-mapped - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 720 x 364 dots - label: COLORS value: Monochrome (12'' built-in monitor) - label: SOUND value: Continuously Variable Slope Demodulator (CVSD) - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 35 (W) x 47.5 (D) x 38.8 (H) cm / 15.2 Kg - label: I/O PORTS value: 2 x RS232, 3 proprietary slots, Parallel (only on original Lisa), - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: |- Lisa : two 5.25'' floppy drives (871 KB)\ Lisa 2/Max XL : one Sony 3.5'' floppy drive (400 KB) - label: OS value: Lisa Office System or Mac OS (Lisa 2/Mac XL only) - label: POWER SUPPLY value: Built-in 150W power supply unit - label: PERIPHERALS value: 5 MB or 10 MB external hard disk - label: PRICE value: 'Lisa: $9,995 (USA, 1983)' tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - emulators - links - docs - videos forum_thread: 275 photos: - title: THE APPLE LISA 2 subtitle: '' text: notice the 3.5" unit instead of the two 5.25") image: /media/museum/photos/lisa2.jpg - title: THE APPLE LISA 1 WITH THE 5MB PROFILE HARDDISK subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/apple_lisa1_completesyst_s1.jpg - title: LISA 1 FACEPLATE subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/apple_lisa1_faceplate_s1.jpg - title: FIRST GRAPHICS DEMO subtitle: '' text: |- The first LISA graphics demonstration Title : Effects of impurities on a disk surface From left to right :\ \- Magnetic head suspended at 250 microns above the magnetic disk, spinning at 80 km/h\ \- Hair\ \- Fingerprint\ \- Dust\ \- Cigarette ash image: /media/museum/photos/lisa_first_graph.jpg adverts: - title: FRENCH AD (DEC. 1983) subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/apple_lisa_pub_alti_1.jpg - title: LISA ADVERT subtitle: '' text: He is rich (enough to buy a LISA !), he is relaxed... He is the typical advertising executive of the 80's. image: /media/museum/pubs/lisa_pub_bind.jpg - title: LISA 1 PIN subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/apple_lisa1_pin_s1.jpg hardware: - title: AST MEMORY BOARD subtitle: '' text: 2 MB extension memory board made by AST Research Inc. and called RamStok. Only 1.5 MB is intalled here. image: /media/museum/hardware/apple_lisa_astmemboard_1.jpg emulators: - title: Executor url: http://www.ardi.com/ platform: Windows text: Demonstration version of a commercial software (MS DOS & Win95) - title: Gemulator url: http://www.emulators.com/ platform: Windows text: A commercial Software which emulates the Atari ST/TT and the Mac 128/Plus/2 (Win95 / Win NT) - title: IDLE Icomplete Draft of a Lisa Emulator url: http://sourceforge.net/projects/idle-lisa-emu platform: Windows text: 'IDLE (Incomplete Draft of a Lisa Emulator) : (yet another) Apple Lisa emulator project' - title: LisaEm url: http://lisa.sunder.net/ platform: Windows text: Same as Apple lisa emulator for unix but ported to windows - title: PearPC url: http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/ platform: Windows text: PearPC is an architecture-independent PowerPC platform emulator capable of running most PowerPC operating systems. - title: SoftMac url: http://www.emulators.com/ platform: Windows text: good 68K Emulator For Windows - title: Apple Lisa Emulator url: http://lisa.sunder.net/ platform: Unix / Linux text: Lisa emulator for Unix, still in development stage... - title: Executor url: http://www.ardi.com/ platform: Unix / Linux text: Demo version of a commercial software (Linux / NextStep) - title: vMac - The Virtual Macintosh Emulator Project url: http://www.leb.net/vmac/ platform: Other platform text: '' - title: Basilisk II url: http://basilisk.cebix.net/ platform: Multiplatform text: Basilisk II is an Open Source 68k Macintosh emulator. Good emulator, runs on several platforms, even Amiga - title: Mini vMac url: http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/ platform: Multiplatform text: Mini vMac, a spin off of the program vMac, emulates a Macintosh Plus and Macintosh SE. So far it works on Macintosh OS, Microsoft Windows, and the X Window System. links: - title: Apple History url: http://www.apple-history.com/ text: History of Apple computers with detail information about all of the computers to come out of Apple. - title: Applefritter url: http://www.applefritter.com text: Excellent site about all Apple models,clones,prototypes,etc... A must see ! - title: CMQ - Groupes d'usagers Apple url: http://www.cmq.qc.ca/cmq.html text: (french) - title: Homepage of Gamba url: http://home.earthlink.net/~gamba2/index.html text: A lot of interesting Mac links, for example "How To Transfer Files From PC to MAC " - title: Jag's House url: http://www.jagshouse.com/ text: Lot of info on all non PowerMac models - title: Lisa Spotlight url: http://www.aci.com.pl/mwichary/guidebook/extras/spotlights/lisa text: Rare information and pictures of Lisa 1 & 2 hardware and software - title: Lisa's World !! (japanese) url: http://www.goodwill.co.jp/oldmac/lisa.html text: '' - title: Low End Mac url: http://www.lowendmac.com text: Great site with a full catalog of ALL old macintoshes. - title: Mac Forums at MacForumz.com url: http://www.MacForumz.com text: Mac forums, a resource on the latest and greatest, as well as vintage, Macintosh hardware, software, and internet. Free registration. - title: MacDebate url: http://www.macdebate.com text: Macintosh discussion forum - title: The Vintage Mac Museum url: http://www.d4.dion.ne.jp/~motohiko/ text: Nice dedicated website with tons of screenshots ! - title: Titlemax - Apple products url: https://www.titlemax.com/discovery-center/lifestyle/every-product-apple-has-made-so-far/ text: Nice graphic of every product Apple Has Made So Far (thanks Lily) - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: Discussion of Macintosh software system docs: - title: LISA OWNER'S GUIDE url: http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/apple_lisa_owner-guide.jpg text: |- [**LISA OWNER'S GUIDE**](http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp)written by Apple  compiled/archived by 1000bit / Michele Perini\  type of document : PDF\  size : 7 MB\  source : [www.1000bit.net](http://www.1000bit.net) - title: APPLE LISA HARDWARE MANUAL url: http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/apple_lisa_hardware-manual-1983.jpg text: |- [**APPLE LISA HARDWARE MANUAL**](http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp)written by Apple / Mark Baumwell  compiled/archived by David Craig\  type of document : PDF\  size : 18,3 MB\  source : [www.1000bit.net](http://www.1000bit.net) videos: - title: Apple Lisa commercial - Kevin Kostner url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaiC_hBQfAs text: 'Length: 59 s' - title: Apple Lisa introduction video url: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=2642365871934222465&hl=fr text: 'Length: 15 min 46 s' - title: Apple Lisa presentation for a TV program filmed in 1984 url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4BlmsN4q2I text: 'Length: 18 min 32 s' - title: Using an Apple Lisa url: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=8523205173324245268&hl=fr text: 'Length: 6 min 07 s' related: - /museum/apple-macintosh - /museum/apple-macintosh-color-classic - /museum/apple-macintosh-ii - /museum/apple-macintosh-plus - /museum/apple-macintosh-portable - /museum/apple-macintosh-se - /museum/apple-macintosh-se-30 oc_id: 265 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230606202739/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=265 date: '2023-06-06' --- In 1979, Apple had seen a need to complete the Apple II series. After a visit to the Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) where he saw lots of new technologies (Ethernet network, GUI, OOP & Laser Printers), Steve Jobs (then chairman of Apple) decided to launch a graphical computer. After lots of work (and two rejected prototypes along the way), the Lisa was revealed in January 1983. Lisa was the original code-name. Supposedly, the Lisa was named after Steve Jobs' eldest daughter, Lisa Nicole. The Lisa project cost over $50 million and was the result of more than 200 person-years of research and development. It was supposed to be the Next Big Thing. It was not however the first personal computer to use a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Several Xerox systems developped in Palo Alto, utilized the STAR operating system. STAR contained a very innovative icon-based interface as well as a built-in word processor and calculator. Contrary to the "legend", Lisa was not the ancestor of the [Macintosh](/museum/apple-macintosh/). Lisa and Macintosh were two distinct projects. The original Lisa couldn't use Macintosh programs and Macintosh couldn't run Lisa software. The LISA OS (Office System) was a true preemptive multitasking operating system. But, because of its very high price ($9,999.99 USD in 1983!) and because of competition with the Macintosh, the Lisa was one of Apple's biggest flops (alongside the Apple 3 and the Newton!). A new version of the Lisa was presented in January 1984, the Lisa 2. It had virtually same features but used a 3.5" 800 KB floppy drive instead of the old 5.25" "twiggy" floppy drives.\ Three versions of the Lisa 2 were successively released:\ \- **Lisa 2** basic version which had rather less memory (512 KB instead of 1 MB) and storage capability than the first Lisa,\ \- **Lisa 2/5**, the nearest to the Lisa 1 at approx. half the original price, was sold with a 5 MB 'Profile' hard disk unit,\ \- **Lisa 2/10**, which offered up to 10 MB of storage on an internal hard-disk.\ All Lisa's were expandable systems thanks to three slots in the back, mainly used for RAM expansion cards. Up to 7 drives hooked up at once on the same interface. In 1985, the Lisa lost its name and was renamed "Macintosh XL" (the Lisa 2 could become a Mac XL through the replacement of a ROM chip on the inside of the machine), its ROM and its display was modified to use the Macintosh Operating System and was presented as a development system for the Macintosh (Don't forget - in 1985 there was no hard disk available for the Macintosh). The Macintosh XL was sold until 1986 but became obsolete when the new "True" Macintoshes were launched ([Macintosh II](/museum/apple-macintosh-ii/) and [Mac SE](/museum/apple-macintosh-se/) in 1987). After the Mac Plus came out, all owners of Lisa's and previous Macintoshes were offered the option to exchange their old computers for the new Plus (for a fee of course). --- **David Curbow** adds:\ The LISA was originally designed as a command line user interface. After the Star was demo'd at the NCC 81 conference they went back and redesigned it. But, because the display hardware used rectangular pixels (great for text but not for grapics) the screen always looked a bit odd.